New beginnings for property owner
JOHANNESBURG – City of Johannesburg helps rightful owner with hijacked property.
In its attempts to stop property hijacking, the City of Johannesburg has successfully restored a property belonging to one owner.
On 14 January, the City of Johannesburg restored a Malvern property back to its rightful owner, Nonhlanhla Mbatha, following her plea to the City’s Group Forensic Investigation Service Department in October last year.
Mbatha struggled to gain access to the property following post registration in September last year.
Her access to the property was allegedly prohibited by Jonathan Constable.
Constable is said to have colluded with the tenants of the previous owner of the property, encouraging them not to cooperate with Mbatha.
Constable, who was recently denied bail at Johannesburg Central Magistrates’ Court, is being charged, along with two other accomplices, with fraud and theft following a hijacking of two properties in Rosettenville.
He was arrested on 29 December last year.
Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba said, “It is essential that we bring back the rule of law in our City and take it back from the criminal elements such as landlords who take advantage of desperate people and house them under deplorable conditions.
As the City, we are committed to providing quality low-cost affordable housing to our residents. We cannot allow property hijackers to continue to rob our residents of opportunities for creating this quality housing. We cannot allow property hijackers to condemn our residents to living in undignified conditions.”
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